CERTIFIED MAIL 7000 0500 0002 1591 9570
Edward Manfredonia
8337 St. James Avenue
Apt. 4B
Elmhurst, NY 11373
718 457 8135
14 April 2004
Professor Brant Houston
Executive Director
Investigative Reporters and Editors
University of Missouri School of Journalism
120 Neff Hall
Columbia, MO 65211-1200
Dear Professor Houston:
I am writing to you concerning an article, which was published in the September/October 2000 issue of the IRE Journal. The article, Offering Credence To The Crank, was authored by Gary Weiss. This article was in reference to the Business Week 26 April 1999 cover story, Scandal On Wall Street.
The article, Offering Credence to The Crank, was replete with several lies by Weiss. And I expect an article in your next publication rectifying these lies- as well as an apology to me.
The article, Scandal On Wall Street, was published with the intent of not presenting me in a very positive light. Gary Weiss and Business Week did not publish my academic credentials, which while not impressive, demonstrated a basic knowledge of business.
I possess a BA and an MBA from Fordham University. I also attended Baruch College and possess an Advanced Professional Certificate in Finance.
Weiss also neglected to mention that I had studied, even though it was a rather indifferent study:
Latin: four years of high school
German: three years at college
Japanese: one year independent study
I do not remember much of these languages, but a basic knowledge of these languages has improved my knowledge of English. I suggest that you visit my extensive website, WallStreetScandals.com, and read my missives.
My command of the English language probably exceeds that of Gary Weiss, who is a horrible speller.
In the article, Offering Credence, Weiss stated that my plethora of letters had undermined my credibility. But a plethora of missives was necessary because various federal regulatory agencies had to be notified. Furthermore, new developments and new information necessitated that several letters be written to notify the proper authorities of these new developments. That too many letters were written was a lie perpetrated by individuals at various regulatory agencies, which individuals had a vested interest in covering up these crimes. This lie was also presented by Richard Syron and his friends at the American Stock Exchange. One reason that Weiss advanced this thesis of a plethora of letters as undermining my credibility was because I had exposed his lies in the article, A Message From The Mob. In this article Weiss attributed the murders of Al Chalem and Maier Lehmann to the Italian Mafia when Weiss knew that Chalem and Lehmann had been murdered by the Russian Mob. (This shall be proved in my next letter.)
I shall now return to the specific lies of the article, an article for which you neglected to contact me.
When I contacted Weiss I mentioned that I had contact with two individuals of whom he might be knowledgeable. The first individual was Al Avasso, whose resume included such prolific activities as being a stock fraud artist, a former member of the American Stock Exchange and a front man for the Italian Mafia. The second individual was Joseph Yastremski, an FBI Agent. It was Joseph Yastremski who wired me.
Weiss asked me to describe Yastremski. I could identify his physical persona in an imprecise manner. But I informed Gary Weiss that Joseph Yastremski had stated to me that he had attended Columbia University and had worked in the mortgage backed securities department at Salomon Brothers. That information gave me instant credibility because Yastremski’s involvement in white collar criminal investigations was not known to the public. When I provided Weiss with a copy of the FBI wire order, I instantly gained credibility.
So Weiss lied about his extensive check up. There were so many lies being disseminated concerning me and so many powerful individuals, such as Peter Kann and the Sulzbergers, ignoring me that I had almost given up hope that any crime at the AMEX would be exposed. (Note 1) And the reason: According to Assistant United States Attorney Frances Fragos, who interviewed me on 13 September 1993, in her office at One Saint Andrew Plaza, Arthur Levitt had ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission not to investigate crime at the American Stock Exchange. Numerous AMEX members had boasted to me of this cover up by Arthur Levitt.
In the article, Offering Credence To The Crank, Weiss disseminated several lies.
The first blatant lie was that I was not responsible for the information concerning the illegal trading by specialists, in particular the illegal trading of Joseph Giamanco Sr. and his son, Joseph Giamanco Jr. Both Giamanco Sr. and Giamanco Jr. were illegally trading the stock of HEB. To refute Weiss’ lie of the attribution of the illegal trading by specialists, I have enclosed copies of five letters, which discuss the illegal trading by Joseph Giamanco Sr. and the stocks in which he was the specialist.
The first letter was dated 23 March 1998 and was addressed to Philip Axelrod, Vice President of Compliance. This letter was sent via certified mail Z 104 174 851. This letter lists other missives, which had been sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning the illegal trading of Joseph Giamanco.
The second letter was dated 6 April 1998 and was addressed to Mary Jo White, United States Attorney for the Southern District of the State of New York. This letter was sent via certified mail Z 121 258 553. The subject of this missive is illegal trading at the American Stock Exchange, including the illegal trading of Joseph Giamanco Sr.
The third letter was dated 24 August 1998 and was addressed to Mary Jo White, United States Attorney for the State of New York. This letter specifically stated that Joseph Giamanco traded the stock of HEB, a stock in which he was the specialist for his personal account at Spear Leeds and Kellogg.
The fourth letter was dated 1 December 1998 and was addressed to Mary Jo White. This letter was sent via certified mail P 311 835 716. In this letter I stated that Joseph Giamanco traded HEB for his personal account at Spear Leeds and Kellogg. I also stated that Giamanco had requested that the AMEX investigate the trading of Manuel Asensio.
The fifth letter was dated 19 November 1996 and was addressed to Carmen Lawrence, Northeast Regional Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission. This letter was sent via certified mail P 339 554 774. This letter stated that Joseph Giamanco and Ronald Menello traded stocks in which they served as specialist for their personal accounts at Spear Leeds and Kellogg. This letter was written in 1996.
Gary Weiss had copies of every letter which I had written- including these letters. Weiss is a liar.
Weiss could not have obtained this information concerning GHM and Giamanco from anyone else but me. His other source of information on Joseph Giamanco and GHM was Manuel Asensio and companies in which Asensio either held an interest or advised. Asensio did not know that Joseph Giamanco cleared through Spear Leeds and Kellogg. If my memory is correct at that time Asensio cleared through Spear Leeds and Kellogg. I told Asensio that Spear Leeds and Kellogg had provided Joseph Giamanco Sr. with information concerning its customers, who traded HEB.
I taped GHM employees, who advised me of the illegal trading of GHM by Joseph Giamanco Sr. and his son, Joseph Giamanco Jr. In the article, Scandal On Wall Street, the reference to Joseph Giamanco Sr. trading for various accounts in other names, was a direct reference to the penchant of Joseph Giamanco Sr. to trade for the accounts of his children and several dummy accounts, including those of Barry Blank, a former AMEX member.
The second blatant lie was that I was not responsible for the price fixing segment. I was present when an AMEX Market Maker first explained this price fixing to Weiss. I explicated this price fixing to prove that pressure was placed upon market makers not to improve the posted markets. Because each exchange had a prescribed monopoly on many options when they were first listed (on the American Stock Exchange: TX, CHV, ASA, TAN, MER, UK, etc.), the specialists were king. I frequently witnessed market makers being thrown out of crowds by powerful specialists. For many years there was not even a market maker on the AMEX Board.
I explained to Weiss how the specialists ruled Trading Analysis and Compliance; that payoffs were made by specialists to Trading Analysis; that Avasso had paid off Compliance attorneys; etc.
While it was true that I did not stress the importance of price fixing, I fully explained it to Weiss. What Business Week did not print and what the AMEX market makers and I stressed was that major firms, such as Merrill Lynch encouraged this system of price fixing, which system worked to the financial disadvantage of their customers. By the simple expedient of either bidding or offering between the markets, a better price could be obtained. But Merrill Lynch and many major firms were loath to employ floor brokers to obtain a better price for their customers. The reason: It would have cost money.
Thus I have proved that Gary Weiss lied and I hope that you shall print an apology to me in your next issue of IRE Journal.
Oh yes, and this shall be the best story of all. Weiss was informed circa December 1998 of the illegal trading by specialists, who claimed a 15 second window to execute an order. Thus, Weiss knew more than 4 years before any other reporter that the New York Stock Exchange specialists were illegally trading stocks. I was present when Weiss was told of this by AMEX Market Makers as well as an off-floor trader.
Weiss is a liar.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Edward Manfredonia
Note 1: In July 1992 I had written to Peter Kann and had castigated Kann for covering up crime at the American Stock Exchange. In July 1992 Tim O’Brien had authored an article about PNF, a stock fraud, initiated by Al Avasso, a Mafia front man, and two AMEX Board Members, Robert Van Caneghan and Louis Miceli. Kann had canceled the second article, which was to focus on illegal activity of Robert Van Caneghan and Louis Miceli. It was an investigation into the stock fraud, PNF, for which I was wired.
The investigation by FBI Agent Joseph Yastremski led to proof that:
1. Steven Lister, at the time Senior Vice President of Compliance, at the American Stock Exchange had accepted payoffs from the Mafia, specifically Al Avasso, to permit violations of federal securities laws.
2. Robert Van Caneghan and Louis Miceli were laundering drug money via the Cayman Islands through their broker dealer.
3. Louis Miceli was smuggling cocaine via the Bahamas aboard his boat, The Jaded Lady.
Weiss knew these facts because an AMEX member had told Weiss that FBI Agent Yastremski had visited his apartment and had told this AMEX member that Avasso, Van Caneghan, and Miceli were involved in narcotics smuggling and money laundering. I had never told this to Weiss because I believed that Weiss would immediately not believe me. But I immediately confirmed the account of this AMEX member
So understand that all of these lies by the AMEX were to protect a serial rapist (see my website); money laundering; narcotics smuggling, two murders (see my website); more money laundering; laundering of the money of Ferdinand Marcos; and a plethora of more mundane financial crimes, such as price fixing; manipulation of stocks by specialists; etc.
Weiss lied to sell books and so covered up serial rape, murder, narcotics smuggling, money laundering, etc. Weiss is, what we in New York City would term, a pathological liar.
